A study on the change in the characteristics of the gait of elderly people when somatosensory stimulation was applied to their ankle joint

The gait is the most complicated, habitual, and involuntary activity of humans and is a result of the cooperation of the central and peripheral nervous systems that harmoniously mobilize the sensory receptors, nervous system, and muscles. A sensory signal binds to a somatosensory system proprioceptor to obtain information on posture. This study was designed to analyze the change in the characteristics of a gait when stimulation is applied in the somatosensory system that controls the balance of the body. A result of the GRF obtained from the force plate and gyroscope signals from the sensor attached on ankle joint were obtained to compare the change before and after the somatosensory stimulation. The result of this study proved a potential of somatosensory stimulation in improving balance, which could be used in studies on the balance of positions and gait improvement

A study on the changes in gait characteristics by applying sub-threshold vibration stimulus in the ankle

This study was conducted to suggest the potential use of a mechanical vibration stimulus in the ankle to correct gait abnormalities. As for the mechanical vibration stimulus, different locations and durations are suggested based on the detection results of real-time gait patterns. 5 young males participated in this study. They were asked to perform assigned gait tasks when either a threshold or sub-threshold stimulus was applied in the tibialis anterior and Achilles tendon. The analysis results of gait cycle and muscle activity showed the changes on gait cycle, the activity pattern of used muscle for gait and the movement pattern of the ankle were observed based on the applied locations of vibration stimulus. Also, the result of sub-threshold stimulus showed similar effects as that of threshold stimulus. As such, the mechanical vibration stimulus was considered to affect gait by being adjusted its characteristics and local stimulus also would affect human body systemically. The result of this study can be used as basic data for the correction of individual’s specific gait abnormality and rehabilitation using vibration stimulus

Effects of muscular response for the intensity of vibratory stimulus applied on the ankle tendon

The present study was conducted to measure the individual threshold value for the somatosensory system of the human body, the thresholds value of vibratory stimulus were assessed through the ascent and descent methods. In the interests of the attainment of this study`s goal, comparing the thresholds value measured and change of state of the muscles when applied on the ankle tendon connected to muscles, changes in threshold measurement accuracy due to the differences in measuring methods were discussed. The experiment was conducted by constructing systems to stimulate somethetic sensibility by vibratory stimulus, ultrasound imaging system and EMG system. Five adult males were involved in this experiment. According to the results of experiments, the threshold value of somatosensory stimulation measured by the ascent method was greater than the threshold values measured by the descent method. And the muscular response to the somatosensory stimulation applied to the tibialis anterior tendon showed a larger rate of change with the ascending stimulus than with the descending stimulus. The results of this study could serve as a basis to discuss the reliability of the measurement method of the human body’s individual threshold value for the somatosensory system through the ascent and descent methods and can be used as reference data for the integration and performance threshold measurement methods

Eastern Staining: A Simple Recombinant Protein Detection Technology Using a Small Peptide Tag and Its Counter Partner Which is a Fluorescent Compound

Small peptide tags such as c-myc, HA, or FLAG tag have facilitated efficient Westernblotting of proteins of interest especially when specific antibodies for the proteins are not available. However, the conventional Western-blotting requires the multi-steps process taking at least several hours up to two days. With examples of various applications, here we show a convenient and time-saving method for protein detection which employs a fluorescent chemical BDED and its binding peptide RC-tag. And we propose “Estern staining”, as a standard term for protein detection method using fluorescent chemicals and their binding small peptide tags. Eastern staining may substitutes for the time-consuming “immuno-staining” in many versatile applications.22Yothe